Apple is the largest profit and revenue generator in the handset industry, accounting for 75% of the overall handset market operating profit in the second quarter of 2021, said a report.
Apple also took 40% of revenue, despite generating only 13% of worldwide handset shipments, according to market research firm Counterpoint.
“While this performance shows the power of the Apple brand, it is still lower than the peak of Q4 2020 when its revenue share reached a staggering 50 percent, up from 28 percent in Q3 2020, and its profit share reached an unprecedented 86 percent, up from 51 percent in the previous quarter,” the research firm said.
“While its shipping share increased significantly from 9% to 17% during the same period, the size of its revenue share reflects the success of its first 5G-enabled iPhone series,” it noted.
Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer by annual shipments, is typically behind Apple in terms of revenue and profit share. Samsung failed to produce the second-highest revenue share in two quarters — Q4 2019 and Q2 2020 — when Huawei took over the top spot.
Samsung, on the other hand, has consistently been the number two player in terms of profit over the last many quarters, the study stated. Despite relative stability at the top, recent quarters have seen a significant shift due to Huawei’s drop following the application of US sanctions.
Huawei’s decline has been mirrored by the rise of other Chinese OEMs, most notably Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo, which were the third and fourth-largest revenue generators in Q2 2021, following Apple and Samsung.
While Xiaomi has performed admirably in terms of shipments, its profitability has been less impressive. “This is because Xiaomi has spent the last several years focusing exclusively on shipment growth,” the market research agency explained.
Xiaomi has also entered the ultra-premium foldable phone sector, which has been dominated by Samsung, with its recently introduced Mi Mix Fold.
The Mi 11i and Mi 11X Pro are two of the company’s other newly introduced high-ASP versions. Their relative shipment performance, on the other hand, might be much improved, particularly when compared to Samsung’s premium Galaxy S21 series.
